In the Craven Holy Empire, the significance of royalty is somewhat special.
Of course, being royalty of a Holy Empire that ranks among the most powerful on the continent is special in itself, but even so, they are a bit different.
“Lester. Go keep watch.” They are so special that it means one can order a Paladin—one of the kingdom’s top forces—to do such a trivial errand without facing any significant complaints.
“…….” While guarding royalty is generally a highly noble duty, it is a proposition that should be reconsidered when the subject is a fool like this. The Seventh Prince. Daniel Craven. The prodigal son considered the Holy Empire’s biggest headache. 'He’s been talking about wanting the Lionheart for a while now….' The position of the Lionheart’s groom is likely coveted by many influential figures on the continent. Yet, Daniel is a guy who has long displayed ugly desires toward the Knight, the Empire’s greatest treasure, to the point where one would want to shove the phrase "never mind your own business" into his brain. The fiancé she brought this time was clearly not a well-trained individual at first glance, so it was obvious she was trying to vent her anger.
“Your Highness. Even so, that—” If he is the Lionheart’s fiancé, he is naturally a distinguished guest. Making advances toward such a person could escalate into a diplomatic issue between the two nations.
Of course, it was clear that Daniel was not the type of person to care about such practical matters.
“To whom did you make a vow to obtain the divinity you wield?” Lester’s mouth shut at Daniel’s fiercely shot question. Yes. This is the problem. The combatants of every nation wield different supernatural abilities, and they all possess completely different natures. And the source of all such abilities boils down to one thing: the grace bestowed by the principal deities of each country. All supernatural abilities originate from the power that the gods of the Pantheon have descended upon the mortal world.
The problem is that in the Holy Kingdom, the majority of such divine power is concentrated within the royal family. To the extent that even the supernatural abilities Lester himself wields now are nothing more than 'borrowed' from this unruly prince. 'And yet, he was banished all the way to the Empire.' The fact that a valuable talent responsible for the source of supernatural powers was stuck in such a distant foreign land clearly implied a great deal. It was effectively exile. It must be a message to go to a remote area and straighten up. It meant that this fellow Daniel was such a complete scoundrel that he wasn't even protected by such privileges.
“What are you doing? I told you to go keep watch!” “…….” And at the look on his face, indicating he was determined to commit the deed despite the situation, Lester let out a furious scream inwardly. To begin with, he had no right of refusal.
No matter how unruly a prince he was, he was still royalty.
“……I will obey.”
In other words. It meant that the divinity wielded by royalty was so formidable that even the Paladins, the Holy Empire’s representative military force, had to yield to those words. 'How pitiful.'
Soon, Lester turned away, praying for the repose of the soul of that man named Aiden.
Daniel strode purposefully toward Aiden.
At the same time, divinity began to surge menacingly through his body. If Karba, the God of War, had bestowed upon her subjects the ability to manipulate the energy within their bodies, the blessing given by Shier, the God of Purification, to his subjects was a flame capable of burning anything.
Seeing as he, the greatest scoundrel of the royal family, had not learned a single way to handle such divinity, it was truly a case of putting a pearl necklace on a pig. A pearl necklace is bound to be valuable in itself. Well-forged divinity functions as both a shield and a sword without any additional processing. It would be able to easily melt an ordinary person's body just by touching it.
“…….” Aiden’s expression rapidly contorted into a frown. It is common knowledge. A member of the royal family of the Holy Kingdom unleashing divinity is, at the very least, a declaration of intent to actively deal with the opponent. In a sense, it was an act of intimidation even greater than Gale, who had drawn his sword in front of him earlier.
“I just don’t understand.” Daniel, arms crossed and smoking, circled around Aiden. His circular gait was brimming with sarcasm and arrogance.
“If she were a woman of Lionheart’s caliber, would she really go out of her way to take such a worthless man as her husband? Hmm?” “…….”
“Tell me, you commoner. Did you flirt? Did you play the role of a gold digger with that handsome face of yours?” Lester rubbed his flushed face. It was an insult that revealed his level of thinking.
The surprising thing, perhaps, was that compared to the expectation that he would wield violence by exploiting his divinity, he was just babbling.
“… … Ah, so.” This was deliberate provocation. It seems his scheme is to make the other side angry enough to lay a hand on him first, thereby justifying his actions as self-defense. He doesn’t seem to be completely disregarding the consequences. After all, the Prince himself must be afraid of the pressure from the Holy Kingdom’s homeland.
Of course, we were the ones who started the fight, but as royalty of the Holy Kingdom, one possesses enough power to crush such minor flaws.
No matter how unruly a prince is, if he is attacked first, burying the opponent wouldn't be that difficult.
“I’d rather it be that.” “…….” “Then I’ll introduce you to someone who can take my place.” “…….” This guy is no ordinary person. At the curt reply delivered without even blinking, Lester and Daniel both had that thought cross their minds simultaneously.
Of course, for Aiden, who had been kidnapped and dragged to a place like this, this groom position held no significance beyond that.
“…… If the Lionheart heard this, he would be in for a beating. Don’t you know what honor is? I really would have been better than a guy like this.”
It was a response that made Daniel—of all people—talk about honor, but instead, Aiden’s eyes flashed with vitality.
“Will you take my place?!” “…….” The reaction was so disastrous that it left Daniel, who had been picking a fight, completely speechless.
"...What the hell is this bastard doing?" It was as if he truly believed that marrying Lionheart was nothing more and nothing less than a burden to him. An opportunity that any man on any continent would envy from the start.
"—" And, clearly. That, too, was a blow to his pride. A goal he had longed for but could not even come close to,Isn't he really treating this man as if he doesn't need him? It must have been in that context that the sentence that spewed out while he gritted his teeth was filled with more resentment than expected.
“Shut your mouth, you vermin. True to a bastard born into a lowly family, you couldn't be more disrespectful to royalty!” “But, about that. Let's stop talking about my family. If you are royalty, you should at least maintain a minimum of honor.” Uh. Wait. This feels like a real scratch. Daniel, flustered by the sudden chill in Aiden’s words, had that thought.
It was a reaction 180 degrees different from when he mentioned his relationship with Lionheart.
However, his expression soon changed to a triumphant smile.
“Honor? Honor?” If he gets angry like this, all he has to do is set him straight.
“A vermin who merely inherited the musty bloodline of a lowly father and mother. How dare you speak of nobility to royalty?” “…….” Wow.
It was a combination of sentences so vulgar that even Lester momentarily forgot his mission and sighed. And as soon as he heard that much, the expression vanished from Aiden’s face.
“What’s wrong, commoner? Can’t you refute it because it’s all true? Huh?” This time, instead of answering, Aiden remained silent and scrutinized Daniel from head to toe. He looked as if he were calculating something in his head, as if organizing his thoughts.
“......I think it will be fine.” After muttering those words, Aiden’s gaze immediately began to carefully calculate the distance between himself and Daniel.
“......?”
And Lester, a seasoned warrior, roughly grasped the meaning of that gesture and his eyes widened. This was... well, it was the look of someone unaccustomed to fighting calculating how to strike their opponent to inflict pain.
Of course, nothing would happen just because a man who clearly looked like he hadn't trained properly did that.
“......??” Something felt off. Something. It felt like something big was about to happen, and he had a feeling he had to stop it.
“Wait, Sir…!” But before he could intervene,
“Your Highness.” Aiden grinned, saying those words. It was a pure white smile, vividly revealing his healthy teeth.
Yet, to Lester, it was somehow a terrifying expression that hinted at the unique sense of relief one feels when losing their grip on reason.
“I hope you know a good dentist.” “…Huh?” Before Daniel could even make a face that showed he had properly understood something, a pure white energy surged up right before his eyes. Considering the process, this must be seen as exactly what Daniel had intended from the start. After all, he had succeeded in getting on their nerves and drawing out a preemptive strike. The problem was. ‘Wait, what…!’ That was, really, too. Very well. A fist flew in, tearing through Daniel’s pure divinity like cardboard, and violently slammed into his left cheek. —!
Undoubtedly.
It was a strike beautiful enough to adorn the air with a dozen or so white teeth at once.
There are more than a few things to scrutinize. How is this man handling the pure white energy that is the Lionheart’s trademark? And despite that, why does he look like an ordinary person with absolutely no training and not a single fighting skill?
However, what I must focus on right now, even more than that, is...
“......Sir.” Lester called out to Aiden in a trembling voice. My head is spinning. Daniel was right beside me, slammed against the wall and bleeding profusely from his entire body, but the shock of the current situation took precedence over dealing with him.
“What on earth have you done......?”
If you have rendered someone unconscious to this extent, it doesn't end with simply 'beating up royalty.' At the very least, it will be a diplomatic dispute; at the very least, an all-out war.
The current political situation on the continent is such that the aftermath of the war has not even subsided yet. And yet, a VIP from the Empire has turned a member of the Holy Kingdom’s royal family into a pulp?
No matter how you look at it, this is not a matter to be taken lightly… …!
“For now, please stop calling me ‘Sir.’ I am not a knight.” “…….”
How could a human who wields pure white energy not be a knight? Lester was about to voice that question, his mouth agape, but Aiden cut him off faster.
“More importantly, hurry up and get someone. He’s going to die at this rate.” “Huh?” “We need to clean up the mess.” “.......” His voice was remarkably calm for someone talking about the mess he himself had created. No, rather than calm, it was chilling. To call it cleaning up the mess was absurd; it sounded more like he was asking for a means to smash the other person’s head in even more decisively.
“This is a huge mess, so shouldn’t we sort this out properly?”
As he looked into those gleaming eyes, Lester realized one thing. This man. It was clear that he became a completely different person when he was angry.After muttering those words, Aiden’s gaze immediately began to carefully calculate the distance between himself and Daniel.
“......?”
And Lester, a seasoned warrior, roughly grasped the meaning of that gesture and his eyes widened. This was... well, it was the look of someone unaccustomed to fighting calculating how to strike their opponent to inflict pain.
Of course, nothing would happen just because a man who clearly looked like he hadn't trained properly did that.
“......??” Something was off. Something. It felt like something terrible was about to happen, and he had the feeling he should stop it.
“Wait, Sir......!” But before he could intervene.
“Your Highness.” Aiden grinned as he said that. It was a pure white smile that vividly revealed his healthy teeth, but to Lester, somehow... it was a terrifying expression that hinted at the unique sense of relief of someone who had let go of their reason.
“I hope you know a good dentist.” “......Huh?” Before Daniel could even make a face that showed he had properly understood something. A pure white energy surged up right before his eyes. Considering the process, this must be seen as exactly what Daniel had intended from the start. After all, he had succeeded in getting on their nerves and drawing out the first strike. The problem was. 'Wait, what…!' That was, really, too. Very well. A fist that flew in, tearing through Daniel’s pure divinity like cardboard, slammed violently into Daniel’s left cheek. —!
Undoubtedly.
It was a strike beautiful enough to make a dozen or so white teeth streak through the air at once.
▣
There are more than a few things to scrutinize. How is this man handling the pure white energy that is the Lionheart’s trademark? And yet, why does he look like an ordinary person with absolutely no training and no fighting skills? But, more than that, what he needs to focus on right now is.
“……Sir.”